Today we saw the most awesome sign – almost fell off our Tandem! We know that bicyclists are a minority among travelers, and of course Tandem cyclists are a very small minority of bicyclists.
Well, a very enlightened and conscientious road worker has finally recognized our presence:
Power to the Tandem!
That was followed by a very, very, very long lunch. At least it seemed long because the Cuckoo said 1, then 2, then 3, then … well, have you ever heard someone setting the time on a Cuckoo clock? Jon’s been wanting to see a Cuckoo all year. But now that we are in Cuckoo country, it does get a little dull after the first 23 calls, then another joins in and it gets really redundant.
Overall it was a delightful day – almost like what we had hoped for along the Atlantic coast. The paths were smooth, and we were impressed at how clean and new they were. A lot of work is currently in progress improving and adding new sections. In fact, this area reminds us of the CA and OR coasts, if we added bike paths to them!
The day was still pretty cold – high in the low 50s. And the headwinds were not only lighter, but much of the morning was in forests that provided a windbreak.
It was only in the last hour, when our route came back onto the water’s edge, that we had to work hard again.
The winds had picked back up to 35km and we got pitying looks from the tourists as we struggled for the final 10km into Les Sable d’Olonne.